Artistes of the Month
Also featured: Marie-Noëlle Barton MBE, Richard Farleigh ,
Karen
Darby
Karen
Darby is a serial entrepreneur, and has been a leading figure in the call
centre industry for over 25 years.
From an inauspicious start (her mother was a waitress, her father an alcoholic) she left school at 16 with one GCSE, and embarked on what would become a classic rags to riches story.
She set up her first company, The Decisions Group in 1983. It grew to
become the third largest telemarketing bureau in the UK and won the European
Service Industry Forum's award for Best Service Company. She sold her
interests in 1990 and Decisions now trades as part of Sitel Inc.
She went on to establish a successful training and consultancy business,
Karen Darby Direct. Clients included BSkyB, Commercial Union, Direct Line,
General Accident, Scottish Widows, Telewest and Zurich Insurance.
Karen then set up her third venture, SimplySwitch, a telephone and web
based price comparison service. She secured venture capital funding from
Bridges Community Ventures, which was subject to the business meeting
certain social criteria such as being based in a deprived area and employin
gthe long term unemployed. Initially launched as Simply Energy Ltd offering
consumers a telephone and web comparison and switching service for gas
and electricity, it quickly extended its portfolio of products to include
home phone, mobile, broadband and a range of financial products and was
re-branded SimplySwitch.
SimplySwitch created over 100 jobs in a deprived area (a condition of
the Bridges funding), and helped thousands of consumers save over £20m
on their household bills.
In August 2006 Karen sold SimplySwitch to DMGT (Daily Mail &General Trust) for £22m.
Karen has over 20 years experience as a public speaker, and has spoken at events around the country. She has spoken for Gordon Brown at business receptions in Downing Street, plus various industry events for the likes of the DTI and the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). A champion for enterprise, she regularly speaks at, and helps promote BusinessLink initiatives.
Her presentations are upbeat and motivational, delivered with the passion and focus which only comes from someone who has really been there and done it. She talks of the highs and inevitable lows of running your own business, and how to deal with the set backs and how to turn them to your advantage.
Her speeches are tailored to the individual audience and can cover:
- I did it, so can you! - The story of a serial entrepreneur
- Raising Finance - Business Angels vs. Venture Capital
- PR - Getting publicity on a shoestring budget
- Corporate Social Responsibility - Building ethical business with a social mission
- Women in Business
Karen was a finalist at Cosmopolitan's Woman of Tomorrow award. In June 2006 she won the Finance Award at the CBI's First Women Awards. She was a finalist in the 2006 National Business Awards. She is frequently quoted in the national news and personal finance pages as well as the business and marketing press. She is a regular guest on the BBC and Sky News.
She is married with 3 children and lives in Surrey.
"AMAZING! Karen is a complete star."
PR4 - Feb 2008 Karen took part in a media campaign for BusinessLink
"I really loved your talk, and I know the audience did too. It
was a brilliant mix of your own personal story combined with practical
business advice…you made us laugh a lot as well!"
FreshIdea Events - December 2007
“Karen Darby is a super-inspirational entrepreneur. Her story,
of creating several major business success stories while also juggling
a real life at home, is a tale of our times – of what it takes to
be a successful entrepreneur, woman and mother in the 21st century. Karen
is exciting, high-energy, imaginative and highly entertaining. She’s
a natural on stage but equally comfortable offering one-to-one advice
to guests afterwards on how to build a business. And here’s the ultimate
proof of her abilities: I rang her up with two hours’ notice to join
a panel speaking to an audience of aspiring entrepreneurs; and not only
did she say yes – she was also the star of the show!”
Matthew Rock, Communications Director, Caspian Publishing
Click here for Karen's online Video Showreel
Marie-Noëlle
Barton MBE
Marie-Noëlle
is an inspirational and motivational speaker with 18 years' experience
of public speaking, addressing conferences, symposia, prize-giving events
and dinners in the UK and abroad. She is able to relate to any audience,
whatever the age, gender, background or status.
Marie-Noëlle is regularly interviewed on national and local radio and TV as well as by journalists. She has given evidence to the Science and Technology Select Committees of the House of Commons and the House of Lords on topics ranging from the teaching of science to the reasons for the low percentage of women working in science and engineering. She is co-author of a handbook entitled Engineering Equals aimed at parents and educationalists urging them to encourage girls and women into science and engineering.
As Director of the WISE (Women Into Science and Engineering) Campaign for almost twenty years, Marie-Noëlle worked closely with educationalists, key professional bodies, multi-national and smaller employers, government departments, politicians and the media to promote the cause of women in these male-dominated sectors.
Marie-Noëlle has sat on a number of committees, most recently the Stewart Committee, which looked at the safety of mobile phones. She was a judge for the 2005 and 2006 Great Britons Award.
In 1999, she was awarded an MBE for her work in promoting science and engineering to women. In the same year she was also the winner of the London Woman of the Year Award for her achievements in promoting women's issues and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Technology by the University of Staffordshire for her work in attracting more women to the engineering profession. In 2006, Marie-Noëlle became an Honorary Fellow of Cardiff University for her continued promotional work.
Marie-Noëlle, who has dual French and British Citizenship, was educated at Nice University in France. She has lived in the United Kingdom for 30 years.
Speeches
Speeches can be delivered:
at any level - an appreciation or very detailed
in any format - conference style (with or without power point slides)
or after dinner
in any style - analytical or entertaining
to any audience - school students to professionals.
Speeches can be given in English or French to audiences in the UK or overseas.
How to attract women into science and engineering
Looking at the reasons why there are so few women in these sectors and
what can be done in the home, at school and in the workplace to attract
women to the profession. Marie-Noëlle is uniquely placed to speak
on this topic to company Chief Executives, Human Resource Directors, trainers,
educationalists and school students.
How to run a campaign
Based on Marie-Noëlle's 18 years' experience running the successful
WISE Campaign this speech addresses issues from choosing a name to fund-raising,
how to choose patrons, influence senior industrialists and politicians,
and attract media attention. An honest and factual account of how to succeed,
enlivened with personal anecdotes.
Building self-esteem and confidence for women
An inspirational and motivational address on how to help women gain self-esteem
and confidence to promote themselves fully. Ideal for Chief Executives,
Human Resource Directors, trainers, educationalists and students of any
age. Highly recommended for prize-giving events and after dinner.
Why do I prefer living in the UK?
A personal account of Marie-Noëlle's decision to leave her native
Côte d'Azur in France, 30 years ago, to live in the UK. This honest
and entertaining address is ideal as an after dinner speech.
'Quite simply, we could not have done it without you and we hope that
you will be able to join us again next year.'
Jean-Philippe Paré, Head of Marketing, Morgan Stanley
'The content of your key note speech not only challenged delegates
but also forced them to review the ethos of their organisation.'
Jennifer Dupe, Director, Specialist Schools Trust
'May I express my sincere thanks for your superb contribution. Your
brilliant presentation hit all the right targets.'
Philip Greenish CBE, Chief Executive, The Royal Academy of Engineering
Heather Goddard, Producer, BBC Radio Essex
Richard Farleigh
Author
of Taming the Lion - 100 secret strategies for Investing and has been one
of the panellists on the BBC's Dragon's Den.
Richard Farleigh was born as one of eleven children in the country town of Kyabram in Australia in 1960. He was placed in foster care at an early age and grew up in Sydney.
Despite a difficult start in life and being diagnosed as backward at the age of 5, he went on to win a scholarship to study economics and econometrics at New South Wales University, and graduated with first class honours.
Farleigh worked briefly in the Research Department at Australia's central bank, the Reserve Bank of Australia, working on economic modelling.
At 23, he passed up the opportunity for an academic career in economics and joined a leading investment bank, Bankers Trust Australia. There he worked for a number of years in designing and managing swaps and other derivatives. During this period he demonstrated a strong ability at trading financial markets, and was then appointed head of the bank's proprietary trading desk, which achieved spectacular results by predicting big picture trends and by using a trading model he developed.
In 1992 he was hired as head of a very powerful private hedge fund in Bermuda, which had searched the world for the best candidates. He was able to retire at the age of 34, and moved to live in Monte Carlo. From there he began investing in small companies which were mostly situated in the UK.
Over the years, he has invested in over 50 start-ups, many of which have floated or been acquired. One such venture has been Home House, a Georgian mansion which Farleigh as a backer and Chairman, help to convert into one of London's most fashionable and successful private members' clubs. Despite his early retirement and being affected by the tech wreck in the year 2000, Farleigh has become substantially wealthy and he has been named as one of the top ten entrepreneurs in Europe.
Apart from being keen on tennis, skiing and boating, Richard is an internationally
ranked chess player, and has represented Bermuda and Monaco in the Chess
Olympics.
Further Information
For further information or for a copy of our latest speaker booklet please phone one of our consultants whose expert advice will help you find the right personality for your event.
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